Liquid dispensing apparatus



June 27,v 1939. A R BQND l, i 2,163,772 y LIQUID DIISPENSING APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1937 AP6/va i MK mm ATTORNEY means directly driven by power of the vpump Patented June 27, 1939` UNITED STATES Y LIQUID DIsrENsING' APPARATUS Alexander R. Bond, Plainfield, N. J., assignor to Keystone Controls, Inc., New York, N. Y., 'a corporation of New York Application April 28, 1937, Serial No. 139,358 18 Claims. (Cl. B21-95) 'I'he present invention relates to liquid dispensing apparatus of the type in which the liquid is metered as it is dispensed and an object of the invention is to provide novel means for automatically resetting the meter indicator .to zero position before each delivery so as to insure full measure'of the liquid delivered. 'I'he invention relates more'particularly to apparatus employing motor driven means for delivering the liquid under pressure and an object of the invention is to provide means controlled by power of the motor for resetting the -meter indicator.

Another object of the invention is to provide power driven means which will insure resetting of the meter indicator to zero position atthe beginning of each dispensing operation.

\ The present invention is more particularly adapted for use in delivery pumps of the'type commonly employed at service stations, garages, etc., for dispensing gasoline. Such pumps are commonly driven by electric motors and in one means driven by the motor to control resetting of r the meter indicator or at least to insure that the meter has been reset every time the motor is started.

My invention provides further for preventing operation of the resetting means after the' meter has been' reset until after the motor speed has dropped to practically zero. l

In another form of my invention I employ motor for positively resetting the meter.

In metered delivery pumps of the type referred to above a iiexible hose is employed for delivering the gasoline Vto .the tanks of automobiles, 'such hose-terminating in a dispensing nozzle. yAfter each delivery the nozzle is placed on a support embodiments thereof land thereafter the novelty and scope of the invention will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing :l Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a dispensing apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a` detail view partly `in section of a pawl mechanism employed in lsaid apparatus;

'in actual practice'.

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of another embodiment of my invention installed in a pumpA stand, the 'casing of the pump stand being shown fragmentally and in section;

Fig. 4 is a view in section taken substantially 5 on line 4--4 of Fig. 3; and

, Fig. 5 is a view in section taken substantially on line 5-5 0 1 Fig. 3. .l

The apparatus shown in Fig. l comprises a pump I0 which is adapted to drawuid through 10 the pipe I2 to the dispensing point. VThe usual 15 by-pass line I4 is provided around the pump III and has apressure control valve I5.

The meter I3 is provided with indicating mech anism comprising a dial I6 and an indicator hand I1. setting the hand to initial or zero position when desired.

The pump I0 is driven by an electric motor I9. In the drawing, this motor is shown as directly connected to .the pump but it will be obvi- 25 ous that suitable gearing may be provided between the motor and pump, as is commonly done The motor shaft through miter gears 2li drives a governor shaft 2l on which is mounted a ball governor. The latter comprises a collar 22 which is iixed to the shaft 2| and a sleeve 23 which turns with but is slidends carry the balls or weights 25. The arms 24 35 are connected by pivoted links 26 to the collar The parts are so arranged that when the motor is operated the pawls or weights 25 will be thrown outwardly by centrifugal force, pulling the sleeve 23 downwardly on the shaft 2|.

The sleeve 23 is formed with spaced flanges 2'I` and 28 respectively, between which are located rollers 29 carried by a yoke arm 30 at opposite sides of the sleeve (only one of the rollers being shown inthe drawing). The yoke arm 30 is piv- 45 oted at 3| and is urged by a spring 32 in either raised position with the rollers 29 bearing against ange 21 or in lowered position with the rollers bearing against ange 28. In normal position,

when the motor is at rest, the roller 29 bears 50 soon as the yoke 30 has beenswung past horiil Suitable mechanism is also provided for re- ,20

vThe other arm 35of this bell-crank is connected by a push rod 3B to the resetting mechanism of the meter. A spring 31 normally holds the bellcrank in raised position with its arm 34 bearing against a fixed stop 38. As shown more clearly in Fig. 2, the upper end of the rod 33 carries a pawl 39 which normally projects from the side of the rod so as to engage the arm 34. When the rod 33 is pulled downwardly it will depress the arm 34. However, the pawl 39 has an upward extension which projects from the opposite Iside of the rod 33.

This extension has a cam face which cooperates with the stop pin 38 to withdraw the pawl 39 from engagement with the arm 34 so that after the rod 33 has been pulled down to a predetermined extent itwill release its hold on the arm 34 and permit the latter to spring up under pull of spring 31. A spring 4I tends to restore the pawl to the position shown in Fig. 2 when the rod 3| is again raised to clear the cam 40 from engagement with the pin 36.

The meter indicator mechanism may be provided with any well-known resetting device which may be operated by the thrust of rod 36. By way of illustration, I show'a reset device comprising a spiral cam 42 fixed to turn with the hand I1. A reset lever 43 is' pivoted at 44 and is connected at its outer end to the vpush rod 36. The reset lever bears a lug 45 of such shape that when the lever 43 is swung inwardly by the rod 36 this lug will cooperate with the cam 42 to restore the hand I1 to its initial or zero position.

Mounted on the motor I9 is a switch 46 controlling the motor circuit. 'I'his switch may be located at any other convenient place for starting and stopping the motor.

In use, when it is desired to dispense fluid, the switch 46 is closed to start the motor I9. This will cause the pump I0 to deliver uidv through the meterA I3 and the indicating mechanism will show the quantityA of iiuid dispensed. However, at the very initial movement of the motor, the governor will be operated to pull the rod 33 downwardly, thereby resetting the meter to zero position. Such resetting will take place as soon as the yoke arm 30 has been drawn down past horizontal position, whenthe spring 32 will give the arm 30 a downward pull sufficient to actuate the reset mechanism. 'I'he extent of the resetting thrust of the rod 36 will depend uponA the position of the cam surface 40 with respect to the stop 38, the parts being so arranged that when the reset lever 43 has been moved inwardly far enough to reset the hand I1 to zero position the pawl 39 will be withdrawn from engagement with the arm 34 and then spring 31 will retract the reset lever 43. Thereafter, the rod 33 may move up and down with variations of speed of the motor without in the least affecting the operation of the reset mechanism. Not until the motor has slowed down virtually to a stop will the ange 28 raise the yoke 30 past horizontal position or sufficiently for the spring 32 to snap the yoke upwardly. When this happens the pawl 39 snaps outwardly to a position in which it will engage the arm 34 of the bell-crank lever upon the next downward pull of rod 33. The-yoke arm 30 thus serves as a trigger for the resetting mechanism, being held i cocked position by the spring 32 when the motor is idle, as shown in Fig. 1, and

lbeing actuated by the spring 32 to operate the reset lever when the governor depresses said trigger past horizontal position. When'the motor stops or when its speed drops substantially to zero the trigger is cocked again under control of the governor which raises it past horizontal position, the spring 32 then serving to complete the cooking operation.

It will be observed, therefore, that I have provided means controlled by the motor for resetting the meter indicator to zero position, and such resetting takes place immediately after the, motor starts up from a position of rest. Thus, the customer is sure that the meter indicator will always be properly reset before it will begin to register the delivery of fluid and since this resetting mechanismv is out of control of the attendant there will be no chanceV of effecting a partial reset and thus defrauding the customer. l

The construction shown in Fig. 3 differs from that shown in Fig. 1 mainly in the fact that although the resetting of the meter isjcontrolled by the motor the speed of the motor is not a factor, but as soon as the motor-starts' to turn the meter indicator will be reset, regardless of l whether the motor has been brought up to speed.

draws iiuid through an intake pipe II and delivers it through outlet pipe I2 and meter I3 to an extension of the outlet pipe I2. Suitably connected to this extension I2, outside of the casing, is a hose 5I. 'Ihe connection of the hose -to the pipe I2 is not shown inthe drawing but such connection will be understood to follow common practice. 'Ihe hose 5I terminates in a nozzle 52. A support 54 is provided on the casing 56 for the nozzle 52 when it is not in use.

The pump lli is driven by a motor I6 either directly or through suitable gearing (not shown). The motor shaft drives 56 an eccentric 51. This eccentric is adapted to engage a pair of toggle links 56 at their pointv of connection 59. The lower one of these toggle links is pivoted to a bracket 60, swiveled in a base 6I. The upper toggle link 58 is pivoted to a shaft 62 which slides and turns in suitable bearings 63. A rod 64 has swivel connection at its lower end with the shaft .62 and at its upper end is connected to one arm 66 of a bell-crank, the

other arm 61 of which is connected by a push-4 The apparatus isshown as in stalled in a pump stand, the casing of the stand being shown fragmentally at 50. The pump I6 through suitable gearing.

The eccentric caml 51 will swing the toggle links from the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 3 to that shown in full lines and in' so doing will give the rod 64 an upward thrust causing resetting of the meter'indicator. However. the toggle links are returned-from the full line position to the dotted line position without changing the relative angle between the links by rotating the shaft 62, and hence without imparting a thrust to the rod 84. Such rotation is controlled by withdrawing the nozzle 52 from its support 54. A

As, shown in Fig'. 4, this support is provided with a side wall 1| and also with a lug 12 rising from the floor of the support and adapted to flt back of a shoulder. 13 of a guard 14 formed on the nozzle. The casing 58 is also provided with a buiging portion 58a so that ibis impossible .to introduce the nozzle upon its vsupport without moving it laterally to clear the lug 12. In doing this the nozzle guard is adapted to en'gage a projecting latch member 15 which is pivoted upon the upper end of a shaft 16.

15 arm which normally bears against a pin 11 projecting from a head 18 formed upon the shaft 16.

A spring 19 holds the arm against this stop 11 with the llatch projecting into the path of the nozzle guard'. Thus, when the nozzle is intro- 20 duced and placed upon its support, the latch 15 is swung clockwise until it clears the nozzle guard 14. On withdrawing the nozzle valve from its lsupport it again engages the latch 15, this time. turning it counter-clockwise, and thereby rotatj ingthe head 18 and shaft 16. This shaft is ysupported in a suitable bearing 80 carried by the casing 58 and at its lower end is fitted with a crank arm 8l. The free end of this arm is connectd to a lever 82 by a'cable 83 which extends throughthe casing 58 and over a pulley 84. A spring 85 is preferably inserted between the cable and this lever. The lever 82 is .iournalled in a bracket 86 and carries a spring-pressed pawl 81 which engages a ratchet wheel 88. Thus,

` when the nozzle is withdrawn from its support it pulls the arm 82 upwardly and thereby turns the ratchet wheel through a predetermined angle. Fixed .to move with the ratchet wheel 88 is a spiral gear 90 which meshes with a spiral pinion- 40 splined on the shaft 62. The pinion 9| has a hub 50 cam 51.

The operation of the apparatus is ,as follows: When the attendant withdraws the nozzle 52 from its support, the nozzle turns the shaft 16 counter- "clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 4, andthereby swivels 55 the toggle mechanism'from the full line position in Fig. 3 to the'dotted line position. If the cam 51 should chance to bein a position 180 degrees removed from that shown in Fig. 3, the toggles would be swung through 180 degrees and would 6o be in position to be engaged by the cam upon the next operation thereof. In most cases, however, the cam would stop in a position in which it would block complete-return of the toggles to positionin alinement with the cam. In other words, the toggle would occupy the position indicated by broken lines, in Fig. 5, in which position they are pressed against the side of the cam by the pressure of the plunger 94 against a side of one, of the indentations 92. However, as soon 70 as the .motor is started, which may be done-by operating a switch button 98- conveniently located near the nozzle support 54, .the cam will beturned and the toggles will be swung into the plane of the cam' under the urge ofv spring 95 75 as soon as the cam is cleared. Thereafter, con- The latch'member has an tinued turning of the cam will swing the two toggle arms into vertical alinement, giving an upward thrust to the rod 64 and thereby operating the reset mechanism. As soon as the toggle levers pass the position of alinement with the shaft 62 they will be swung clear of the cam to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 by th pressure of spring 10.

It will be understood that the spring-pressed plunger 94 holds the toggle links against swiveling as they are operated bythe cam but the spring pressure onthe plunger is not sufficient to prevent swiveling of the toggle links to condition them for the next operation. It will be noted that' l the resetting mechanism is given a single reciprocationvby operation the cam 51 on the toggle links 58 and the latter are immediately moved out of. reach of the cam by the spring 18 so that the cam may continue to turn without doing any further work. Only after'the nozzle has been replaced upon its support and then withdrawn from the support will the toggles be conditioned hehas finished a delivery and hence he must necessarily condition the resetting mechanism for operation whenever he takes the nozzle off its .I

support. If he Wishes to reset the meter imme.

diately after a sale has been completed he may do so by pulling the nozzle oii the support while the motor is still running. In any case, the mechanism will be operated automatically whenever the nozzle is removed from its support if the motor is running at the time, or, as soon thereafter as the motor is started and customers arethus assured that the meter will be properly reset at the start of each delivery. v

While I have described two embodiments of my invention it will be understood that this will be taken as illustrative and not 'limitative and that I reserve the right .to make various changes in form, construction, arrangement and mode ofoperation as may fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

1 In an apparatus of the character-described, a conduit, power driven means for supplying the conduit with fluid, a meter connected to the conduit and having an indicator for registering the flow of said fluid through the conduit, means for starting and stopping the power means, a centrifugal governor driven by the'power means,

and means controlled by the governor for resetv conduit and having an indicator for registering' the flow through the conduit, means for starting and stopping` the power means, a centrifugal governor driven by'the power means, resetting mechanism controlled by the governor for resettingthe indicator to zero position whenthe speedof the power means exceeds a predetermined amount, and means for reconditioning the resetting mechanism for operation only after said speed drops substantially to zero.

and stopping the power means, a centrifugal device driven by the power means, resetting mecha- A nism controlled by the centrifugal device for resetting the indicator to'zero position when the speed of` the power means exceeds a predetermined amount, and means controlled by said device for reconditioning the resetting mechanism for operation only after said speed drops substan- -tially to zero.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a conduit, power driven means for supplying the conduit with iiuid, a meter connected to the conduit and having an indicator for registering the iiow of said iuid through the conduit, means for resetting the indicator to zero position, means for' starting and stopping the power means, a centrifugal device driven by the power means, and means actuated by the centrifugal device at one speed of the power means for initiating operation of the resettingmeans and at another speed for conditioning the resetting means for operation when the power means again reaches y the first mentioned speed.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, aconduit, power driven means for supplying the conduit with fluid, ameter connected to the conduit and provided with an indicator for registering the iiow of said fluid through the conduit, means for starting and stopping the power means, and mechanism controlled by the power means for resetting said indicator to zero position, said mechanism comprising a trigger adapted to be tripped by the Apower means when the Vspeed of said power means exceeds a predeter- Aa conduit, power driven means for supplying the conduit with iuid, a meter connected to the conduit and provided with an. indicator for registering the ilow oi said iiuid through the conduit, means for resetting the indicator to zero position, and a cam driven by the power means for operating the resetting means, said resetting means being constructed and arranged to withdraw from operative relation with the cam at each resetting operation, and manual means for restoring the resetting means to`operative relation with the cam.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, a conduit including a flexible hose terminating in a dispensing nozzle, .power driven means for supplying the conduit with uid to be dispensed, a meter connected to the conduit and provided with an indicator for registering the iiow of said fluid through the conduit, means for resetting the indicator to zero position, mechanism controlled by the power means for4 operating the resetting means, a support for the nozzle when not in use, said mechanism being disconnected from the power means at each resetting operation, and means actuated by the nulle as it is removed from the support for operatively connecting said mechanism with said power means.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, a conduit including a flexible hose terminating in a dispensing nozzle, power driven means for supplying the conduit with uid, a. meter connected to the conduit and provided with an indicator for registering the flow of said uid through the conduit, resetting means for resetting the indicator to zero position, and a cam driven by the power means for operating the resetting lmeans, said resetting means being constructed and arranged to withdraw from operative relation to the cam upon each operation thereof, and means associated with the nozzle for restoring the resetting means to operative relation with the cam.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, a conduit including a iiexible hose terminating in a dispensing nozzle, power driven means for supplying the conduit with fluid to be dispensed, a meter connected to the conduit and provided with an indicator for registering the flow of said fluid through the conduit, mechanism operated by the power means for resetting the indicator to zero position, said mechanism being constructed and arranged to withdraw from operative relation with the power means at each resetting operation, a support for the nozzle when not in use, and means for operatively connecting said mechanism with said power means, the latter means including a part engaging the nozzle when the latter Vis on the support whereby operative connection of said mechanism and said power means must be established before the nozzle can be removed from the support.

11. In an apparatus of the character described, a conduit, power driven means for supplying the conduit with fluid, a meter connected to the conduit and provided with an indicator for registering the iiow of said :fluid through the conduit, means for resetting the indicator to zero position, .a pair of interconnected toggle links, an abutment at the outer end of one of the links, an operative connection from the outer end of the other link to the resetting means, a spring normally holding the linksv in mutually angled position, a disk cam driven by the power means and adapted to swing the toggle links to and past mutual alinement and thereby operating the resetting means, and means for swiveling'the toggle links to restore them to operative relation with the cam without swinging them into mutual alinement.

12. In an apparatus of the character described, a conduit, power driven' means for supplying the conduit with fluid, a meter connected to the conduit and provided with an indicator for registering the ow f said fluid through the conduit. means for resetting the indicator to zero position, a pair of interconnected toggle links, an abutment at the outer end of one of the links, an operative connection from the outer end of the other link to the resetting means, a spring normally holding the links in mutually angled position, a disk cam driven by the power means and adapted to swing the toggle links to and past mutual alinement and thereby operating the resetting means, means for swiveling the toggle links to restore them to operative relation with the cam without swinging them into mutual alinement, and a spring urging the'links into alinement with the cam, the latter spring preventing the links from swiveling while being engaged by the cam.

13. In an apparatus of the class described, a

conduit.' power koperated means for inducing ow through the conduit, a ow registering meter associated with the conduit, a zeroizing mechanism for said meter, a trigger mechanism restraining actuation of the zeroizing mechanism and means for releasing -the trigger upon starting of the power means.

14. In an apparatus of the class'described, a conduit, power operated means Ifor inducing flow through the conduit, a flow `registering meter associated with the'conduit, a zeroizing mechanism for said meter, a trigger mechanism restraining actuation of the zeroizing, mechanism, means for releasing the trigger upon starting of the power means, and means for recocking the trigger substantially concurrently with the stoppage of the power means. y

15. In an apparatus of the class described, a conduit, power operated means for inducing flow through the conduit, a flow registering meter associated with the conduit, a zeroizing mechanism for said meter, a trigger mechanism restraining actuation of the zeroizing mechnism. means for releasing the trigger upon starting of the power means, means for recocking the trigger substantially concurrently with the stoppage of the power means, and spring means for actuating the zeroizing mechanism and in which energy is stored as an incident of cooking the trigger,

. 16. In a fluid dispensing apparatus, the comblnation with a conduit, `movable means for inducing a flow of uid through said conduit, means for registering the amount of fluid iiowing through said conduit, and means for resetting said registering means; of means responsive to an acceleration in the speed of movement of said ow inducing means for eiecting a resetting operation oi' said resetting means.

17. In a fluid dispensing apparatus, the comy bination with a conduit, movable means for inducing a flow of fluid through said conduit, means for registering the yamount of fluid flowing through said conduit and means for resetting said registering means; of means responsive to a deceleration in the speed of movement of saidregistering' means; of means responsive to an acceleration in the speed of movement of 'said flow inducing means for effecting a resetting operation of said resetting means and responsive to a deceleration in the speed of movement of said flow inducing means for reconditioning said resetting means.

. ALEXANDER R. BOND. 

